Yankees Rumors: Why they should consider trading for Zach Britton

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The Yankees interest in trading for Orioles star Manny Machado has increased even though they don’t have a pressing need for him on their roster. What they need is more pitching which is why they should try to acquire his teammate Zach Britton instead.

On Wednesday it was reported by Jon Heyman of Fancred that the Yankees made a “strong offer” to acquire Machado, but the offer did not include their top pitching prospect, Justus Sheffield.

Machado is one of the top 5 to 10 players in the game today, but the Yankee already have arguably the best offense in baseball with plenty of right-handed power in their lineup. In Miguel Andujar, they have a blossoming young star who could be their third basemen for the next 10-15 years. They also have Didi Gregorius playing shortstop, the same position Machado would like to stay at for the rest of his career.

As exciting as a Machado deal would be it just doesn’t make much sense so Brian Cashman should look to make another strength (the bullpen), even stronger. With the trade market for starting pitching the weakest we’ve seen in recent years, they should consider adding the 2X All-Star Britton to what is already the most dominant bullpen in baseball.

Here’s why:

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 17: Zach Britton #53 and Caleb Joseph #36 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Just like Machado, Britton is also a free agent at the end of the season so the last place Orioles would be crazy not to trade him. They’re in the midst of a rebuild and they need all the young talent they can get to accelerate it. Now that he’s back healthy from a ruptured Achilles that sidelined him for close to six months Britton should be one of the most sought-after relievers from now until the trade deadline on July 31st.

Britton’s numbers since returning to action back on June 12th haven’t been great (4.26 ERA), but he’s shown signs of regaining his All-Star form of late. He hasn’t given up a run over his last five outings and during this week’s series against the Yankees, his fastball velocity was the best it’s been all season reaching up to 97 and 98 mph. A couple weeks ago he was down to 93-94 mph, so as he’s gotten more work the velocity has increased.

If he can continue to throw his patented power sinker consistently above 95 mph Britton has the chance to dominate the way he has in year’s past. He’d also be a good fit for any team in baseball, however, not every team has the prospects the Orioles would look for in return if they traded him.

The Yankees have more than enough to get a deal done and because he’d only be a rental they could probably get him without having to give up any of their top-tier prospects. Who they’d give up is hard to predict, but it wouldn’t be Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier, or Estevan Floral. Instead, players with big league experience like Brandon Drury, Tyler Wade or Tyer Austin could be enough to headline a potential package.

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 09: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on May 9, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Yankees bullpen doesn’t have many holes if any but one thing they could use is another left-handed reliever. Since most of their righties have the stuff to get anyone out it’s not a glaring need but come playoff time it would be nice to have a guy who can come in to get out a tough lefty.

Chasen Shreve is the only other lefty in the Yankees pen, but he’s not really a lefty specialist and he actually has better numbers against right-handed hitters. Britton himself isn’t your classic matchup lefty because he’s a closer, but he dominates lefties and always has. Since moving to the bullpen back in 2014, he’s only given up one home run to a left-handed hitter and for his career lefties are only slugging .315 against him.

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If Britton was acquired he wouldn’t be limited to just a specialist role in the Yankees pen which would make him even more valuable to manager Aaron Boone. Boone could pick his spots for when he wanted to pitch Britton based on when opposing lefties are coming up in the lineup and then leave him in there for the entire inning.

He could also be an insurance policy for Aroldis Chapman if his current issues with knee tendonitis lead to something worse. Obviously, that’d be a nightmare situation for the Yankees but with Britton on the roster, he would be the next best option to step in and fill that void.

BOSTON, MA – JULY 15: Matt Holliday #17 of the New York Yankees hits a solo home run during the ninth inning to tie the game 1-1 off Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 15, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /

It’s no secret that the Astros, Red Sox, and Indians could all use another reliever before the deadline. The Astros need a legitimate shutdown closer badly, the Red Sox need a more reliable option to set-up for Craig Kimbrel and the Indians need all the help they can get in their pen. All three teams likely have interest in trading for Britton so if the Yankees don’t get him themselves it wouldn’t be a surprise if he landed with one of these three AL pennant hopefuls.

If the Indians landed Britton he would provide a huge boost to a bullpen that has been uncharacteristically terrible this season. Their 5.39 bullpen ERA is the worst in all of baseball. Andrew Miller is out on the DL for the second time this season and their closer Cody Allen has a 4.66 ERA. They could use a reliever of Britton’s caliber more than any other contender.

If the Red Sox got Britton to pair with Kimbrel it would be an incredibly tough duo to deal with at the back end of their pen. If the Astros got him they’d finally have a proven closer to go with their rotation which is the best in baseball. Over the past two seasons, we’ve seen the Yankees have a lot of success against both teams’ bullpens. Getting Britton could be the difference maker they need to shut down the Yankees relentless lineup in the later innings.

Next: Trading Sheffield for Machado would be a big mistake

Keeping Britton away from one these teams shouldn’t be the main reason why the Yankees should look into trading for him but it’s definitely a factor. Both Boston and Houston especially are a dominant reliever away from being close to unstoppable so if Cashman can swipe in and get Britton first and improve his own team in the process he shouldn’t hesitate to do so.

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The Yankees interest in trading for Orioles star Manny Machado has increased even though they don’t have a pressing need for him on their roster. What they need is more pitching which is why they should try to acquire his teammate Zach Britton instead.

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